In response to the European Court of Justice’s ruling about people’s right to be forgotten online, Rt Hon David Davis MP said:

“The European Court has ruled that Google must give individuals the right to control their own data, and ask the owners of search engines to remove results. There will be a presumption that companies like Google must removed links to such information unless there are particular public interest reasons justifying the public in having access to the information.

This is a sensible decision but it is only the first step in people having property rights in their own information.

The presumption by internet companies and others that they can use peoples personal information in any way they see fit is wrong, and can only happen because the legal framework in most states is still in the last century when it comes to property rights in personal information.

It is long past time that the western democracies grappled with this problem. As the next few decades will only see it becoming both ever more important and ever more problematic.”

David Davis, a rightwing Tory who would not exactly have been to my tastes in days of yore, whose crusade against the erosion of liberties should mark him out as one of the political heroes of the age.